Optical measurement systems are typically employed to measure certain properties or characteristics of one or more specimens. In implementing such measurements, optical measurement systems employ various optical components arranged in a particular manner in order to effectuate the intended measurement on the one or more specimens. Such optical components include, but are not limited to, light sources, filters, lenses, mirrors, spatial filters, modulators, choppers, collimators, detectors, diffusers, fiber optics, and others.
Often, optical measurement systems include an optical rail system to facilitate the mounting and arranging of the optical components of the intended optical measurement system. Typically, an optical rail system consists of a plurality of parallel rails, such as four (4) rails arranged in a quad fashion, and a plurality of optical component mounts secured to the rails. Each optical component mount is configured to mechanically host one or more optical components.
In the past, an optical component mount consists of a plurality of thru-holes, typically arranged in a quad fashion. Each optical component mount is mounted on the rails by sliding the mount such that the rails move coaxially into the respective thru-holes of the mount. Similarly, each optical component mount is dismounted from the optical rail system by sliding the mount such that the rails move coaxially out of the respective thru-holes of the mount.
A drawback of such optical rail system is that it requires substantial amount of effort to add one or more optical component mounts between already-installed mounts. For instance, to add an optical component mount between a pair of already-installed mounts, one of the already-installed mounts needs to be removed by sliding the mount off the rails. Then, the newly added optical component mount is slid into the optical rail system. After the newly added mount is installed on the optical rail system, the previously-removed mount is stalled on the optical rail system again.
As can be envisioned, such optical rail system does not easily lend itself to an optical measurement system that needs to be reconfigured often for the intended measurement. As discussed, already-installed mounts need to be removed off and remounted on the optical rail system. Such mounts also needs to be precisely aligned again, as distance and orientation with respect to other optical components are often important in such optical measurement systems.
Thus, there is a need, among other needs, for an improved optical rail system that facilitates the mounting and dismounting of new optical component mounts between previously-installed mounts.